How Do I Deal Without You
by GlambertLovesBTR
Summary: Kendall Knight and Jo Taylor are engaged and preparing for their wedding. Everybody's excited for them... well, except for Erica Reynolds, who's been in love with Kendall for as long as she can remember. Will she ever reveal her true feelings, or will she stand by and watch the love of her life slip through her fingers?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys! I hope you guys really enjoy this story! At first it was called Secret Love, but I decided to change it. The guys are twenty-one years old in this story. This is going to be mainly KendallxOC with major CarlosxOC, slight LoganxOC (or LoganxCamille, I haven't really decided yet) and JamesxOC. Sorry if the first chapter's a bit slow but the next chapter is when things are going to get really interesting :P Enjoy!**

* * *

The one thing Erica Reynolds hated more than anything was traveling, especially by plane. There was always that one thing that went wrong on the plane or in the airport. No matter how small or big a problem could be, it would always ruin someone's traveling experience. Well, for Erica, it seems that anything that could possibly end up going downhill happened.

It all started when Erica was first checking her luggage into the airport. Apparently, her suitcases were only two pounds over the weight limit but she still had to pay extra. Then, as she was being scanned to check if she was carrying any weapons or anything else illegal, the monitors kept beeping, which brought the airport security over to see what was the problem. The lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste were setting the monitors off so she had to throw them all out. Also, Erica had to go through the whole process of taking out her earrings, bracelets, necklace, nose ring, belt, bobby pins, and even her belly button ring just so she could get through the whole body scanner. It caused a huge scene and embarrassed the hell out of her.

Finally, after two hours of arguing with the security, it was time to board the plan from New York to California. Erica was hoping for a nice and peaceful flight, but that wasn't the case at all. She was in the second to last row in the aisle seat, which was the worst place to be seated at. Every time the cart came by, it would always bump her in the elbow, just like Drew Barrymore in _The Wedding Singer_. All of the good food was taken and she forgot to buy herself a snack at the airport, so she was starving!

The worst thing about the flight was the people sitting around her. She was sitting next to a very heavy and sweaty man that smelled like cheese, which made Erica want to puke. Then sitting behind her was a rambunctious six year old boy wouldn't stop kicking the back of her seat. Every time she would politely turn around and ask the boy's mother to tell him to stop kicking, she would just yell at Erica in Spanish, which she didn't understand at all. It was a very long five-hour flight for her.

Now, she was off of the god-awful plane but things didn't get better from there. In fact, it was getting much worse for poor Erica.

"What?!" she exclaimed at the woman working behind the counter, "How the hell do you misplace someone's luggage? My ticket specifically said Los Angeles, _not _Laughlin!"

"Well, I'm sorry, ma'am," the woman- whose name was Debbie- apologized with a southern accent, "The letters were a bit blurry so we thought it said Laughlin…"

Erica sighed in exasperation and ran her fingers through her long curly ombre hair. "You'd think they'd be smarter when it comes to this sort of thing…" she mumbled to herself. Then she turned back to Debbie. "So do you know when exactly my luggage would get here?"

"Hmm, let's see…" Debbie typed something up on her computer, "It should be here in an hour or so."

_Not too bad._ The twenty-one year old thanked Debbie before picking up her guitar and purse. As she was walking away, her stomach began to growl very loudly. She clutched onto her stomach and whimpered in starvation. She had a few bucks on her so she thought she could buy a little something from the Starbucks in the airport. She ordered a gingerbread latte (it was Christmas season- thank God) and a cinnamon roll. When she took her first sip of the latte and bite of the cinnamon roll, Erica could've sworn she heard angels singing. Her craving was completely satisfied. She was about to take another sip until someone crashed into her and made her spill her latte all over herself.

"Sorry, miss!" the man that ran into her said as he continued to run, "I'm late for my flight!"

Erica couldn't even speak, she was in shock. Her mouth gapped open as she looked down at her now ruined shirt and empty cup that was lying on the floor. She picked up the cup and threw it in the trash bin (yes, she was upset, but that didn't mean she couldn't still use her manners) and hurried over to the women's restroom. She immediately grabbed as many paper towels as she could, wet them with a bit of water, and started to rub the coffee off of her shirt. The coffee wasn't coming off; instead it was staining one of her favorite shirts.

"Aw, bitchsuck!" she growled to herself in frustration.

All of her clothes were in her luggage so she didn't have an extra shirt with her. Instead, she took her grey sweatshirt out of her purse and placed it on top of the sink. Erica grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her only in her teal bra and jeans. She shoved the soiled shirt into her purse when she felt someone staring at her. A middle-aged woman was looking at her with a weird expression on her face.

"What?" Erica snapped at her, "We're all ladies here! Don't judge me!"

The woman put her hands up in defeat and scurried out of the restroom. Erica slipped her oversized sweatshirt over her slim but curvy body when her ringtone, 'Windows Down' by Big Time Rush, filled the empty room. She hummed along to it for a moment before answering her phone.

"Hey, Mom," she said, "What's up?"

"_Hi, Erica,"_ her mother Lillian answered, _"I'm just dropping your sister off at her friend's house. She's spending the night over there. How was your flight?"_

Erica began to tell her mother all of the details all the way from paying extra for her luggage to getting her breakfast dumped on her. Lillian sucked in her breath after her daughter finished telling her horrific tale of the airport.

"_Aw, that's awful!" _she said, "_Traveling just isn't your friend, is it?"_

"No, it is not," Erica replied, tapping her fingers on the sink, "I'm just glad it's all over now. So what time are you picking me up from the airport?"

Erica heard Lillian grimace on the other end. _"Yeah, there's something that I need to tell you…"_

"You're not picking me up, aren't you?"

"_I'm sorry, sweetheart! Janice called in sick at work so now I have to take her shift until five thirty. I was the only one available to take it. I'm sorry."_

Erica sighed. She was annoyed, but she was an understanding person; she'll get over it. "It's okay, Mom. Really. I can call someone else to pick me up."

"_Are you sure, sweetheart? I can call my boss and tell him I can't make it-"_

"Mom, relax. It's fine." A light bulb went off in Erica's head. "In fact, I know exactly how I can call."

"_Okay, Erica. Well, I got to go, but I'll see you tonight, okay?"_

"Okay, Mom. Bye."

After hanging up with her mother, Erica scrolled through her contacts and finally found the person she was searching for. She selected them and held her phone up to her ear. It rang a few times before someone answered.

"_Hello?"_

"Heeeeeeyyy," Erica stretched out, "Are you busy right now?"

* * *

Erica was now sitting on a bench outside of LAX airport. She had finally reclaimed her luggage and was waiting for her ride to pick her up. It was getting cold outside so she was hoping that her ride would be there soon. She was playing Angry Birds on her phone when she heard someone honk their horn loudly.

"Ah!" she shrieked as she caught her phone before it could hit the ground.

She looked up and saw a black Mercedes-Benz across from her. A tall twenty-one year old man got out of the driver's seat and smirked at Erica. The ombre-haired girl rolled her light blue eyes.

"Really, Kendall?" Erica said as she stood up, "I was just about to win my game but you had to ruin it and honk your damn horn at me."

Kendall Knight placed his hand over his heart as if she had just offended him. "Wow. Such a snarky attitude coming from a girl who just called me, begging me to pick her up from this 'hellhole of an airport'. I could've put my career first, since I was in the middle of rehearsal, but nope. I decided to be the best friend ever and pick up your ungrateful ass."

She chuckled and shook her head. "You're such an asshole, Knight."

He also chuckled and spread his arms out. "You know you love me, Reynolds."

Erica smiled at her friend, whose arms were waiting for her. With her luggage and guitar in her hands, she walked over to Kendall. She set her stuff gently next to his car and then he engulfed her in a big hug. They smiled to themselves as they took in this moment.

Kendall and Erica have practically been best friends ever since they were in diapers. Growing up, these two were inseparable, even when James, Logan, and Carlos came into the picture. They always put on mini concerts together for their friends and family and were known as The Dynamic Duo (yeah, they weren't always clever when it came to naming things). When Gustavo Rocque discovered Big Time Rush, Kendall begged Erica to come to California with them, but she refused. She just wasn't ready for fame yet. Besides, her main goal at the time was to graduate high school and get into Julliard, which she did. Everyone, especially Kendall, was so happy and proud of her for getting into the most prestigious performing arts school. She is in her third year of college but she was now on Christmas vacation, so she's spending time with her friends and family in Los Angeles, like she does every year.

The two pulled away from each other. Kendall popped the trunk open and started placing Erica's luggage in the car. He was about to reach for her guitar but she smacked his hand away.

"Hey!" he yelped, "What was that for?"

Erica grabbed her guitar and held it close to her. "You know better than to lay your hands on Cassie."

"Cassie?" Kendall stifled a laugh, "You still have your guitar from middle school?"

"Hey, Cassie's not just a guitar," she defended, patting her guitar, "She's like family."

Kendall pinched the bridge of his nose as he started to laugh uncontrollably. "Oh my God. Just get your ass in the car, you weirdo."

Erica placed her guitar carefully in the backseat before climbing into the passenger's seat. She heard her friend shut the trunk and walk over to his side of the car. He put the car into gear as soon as he got in. On their way to Rocque Records, they made small talk to catch up with each other a bit.

"So, what about you, Erica?" Kendall asked her, "How's college treating you?"

"Pretty good. We just got done with our first semester of the year and for my final, we had to record a cover song. I got an A plus." She beamed at her success.

The dirty blonde boy smirked. "Please tell me you brought it with you."

She dug into her purse and pulled out a shiny CD with the words 'Black and Gold' written in black Sharpie. She smiled as she waved it in front of Kendall's face. They both chuckled as she put the disk in the radio and pressed Play. The strumming of Erica's guitar filled the silence followed by her voice.

_If the fish swam out of the ocean  
And grew legs and they started walking  
And the apes climbed down from the trees  
And grew tall and they started talking_

_And the stars fell out of the sky_  
_And the tears rolled into the ocean_  
_And now I'm looking for a reason why_  
_You even set my world into motion_

_'Cause if you're not really here_  
_Then the stars don't even matter_  
_Now I'm filled to the top with fear_  
_But it's all just a bunch of matter_

_'Cause if you're not really here_  
_Then I don't want to be either_  
_I wanna be next to you_  
_Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold_

Kendall was nodding his head along with the beat. "Pretty impressive, Reynolds. I don't understand why you just won't take Gustavo's offer at Rocque Records. You're so amazing and you know he would sign you in a heartbeat."

"I already told you, Kendall," Erica said, "I'm not ready for all of that yet. I just wanna finish school first and then worry about my musical career later."

"You know when we get to the studio, you're gonna be hearing it nonstop from everyone, especially Gustavo. He's so eager to hire you that it's kinda weird. When I told him that you were staying for a while, he got so excited. I haven't seen him like that ever since Matthew McConaughey got arrested for vandalizing Gustavo's front lawn." Erica raised an eyebrow and Kendall shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, it's a long story. But he's not wrong; you really are talented."

As flattered as she was and the thought of sharing her music with the world excited her, Erica just wasn't ready for that much pressure. She knew how crazy Hollywood life could be and she was a down-to-earth girl so she just needed time to adapt to the whole situation.

The ombre-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. We'll see."

They had finally got to Rocque Records. After Kendall parked the car in the parking lot, they walked into the studio together. Right when they reached the third floor, Erica was bombarded with hugs from James, Logan, and Carlos.

"Erica's back!" Carlos exclaimed excitedly as he spun her around.

"Yeah, I am!" she giggled, "Um, Carlos? You can put me down now."

"Right, sorry," he apologized as he put her down. Logan smiled as he gave his old friend a much calmer hug.

"How are you doing, kiddo?" he asked her.

"I'm doing great. Are you keeping these three idiots out of trouble?"

"You bet I am." They turned their heads as they heard glass shatter. Carlos blushed as he picked up the pieces of a vase that he had just broken. Logan chuckled sheepishly. "Well, as much as I can."

Erica patted his shoulder. "I can see that." She then turned to James and gave him a hug. "Hey, James."

"Hey, Erica," he greeted one of his best friends, "I see that you finally got taller."

The now 5'6" girl reached up and ruffled up his new shorter hair, which was his most prized possession. "And I see that you finally got rid of that hair that always got you mistaken for a girl."

Everyone else started to laugh as James's face turned beet red. "It was not that girly! You just don't understand fashion!" He angrily took a drink of his water as everyone else's laughter died down.

"Carlos? James? Logan? Where are you guys?"

Logan and James's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their skulls when he heard the feminine voice call their names. They both shrieked like little girls and jumped behind the couch. Erica was about to ask what was wrong when a girl their age walked in. She had long straight black hair and the prettiest hazel eyes. She was short, standing at 5'2". She was wearing a bright yellow sweatshirt, which popped against her fair skin tone. She also wore black sweatpants and chestnut colored Ugg boots.

"Guys, what are you doing? You know we have-" She stopped when she saw Erica standing next to Kendall. Then she started squealing and jumping up and down. "Oh my God! You're here!" Taking Erica by surprise, she ran over to her and gave her the biggest hug.

"Hey, Stella," Erica squealed back as she hugged her best friend, "Aw, it's been so long!"

"I know!" Stella stepped back but held on to Erica's hands. "Carlos didn't even tell me that you were gonna be in town. How long are you staying?"

"Until after New Year's Day."

Stella started squealing again. "This is so exciting! I-" She was interrupted when she heard someone cry out in pain.

"Ow! Logan, stop stepping on my hand!"

"Then get your hand away from my foot!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the two hidden boys' argument. Stella looked behind the couch and saw James and Logan hitting each other. Without warning, she grabbed the two by the ears and dragged them up so they were standing.

"What the hell were you two doing?" she asked, "Why were you hiding?"

Logan was about to answer politely when James blurted out, "Because you're scary during rehearsal!" The smart boy smacked the pretty boy upside the head, making him flinch.

Stella gasped and turned to Carlos. "Am I really that mean?"

"Eh…" Carlos answered, trying to find the right words to use so he wouldn't offend her. When he didn't answer right away, Stella started to pout and turned away from him. Feeling bad, Carlos walked up to her and wrapped his arms around from behind her. "Aw, come here, baby."

Stella looked up at him and he gave her his famous puppy dog face. That was the look that always made her weak at her knees, but this time, she wasn't going to cave in.

"Nope," she said, turning her head away, "That's not gonna work on me this time."

"Oh, really?"

All of a sudden, Carlos started peppering the small girl's face with kisses. Stella couldn't help but start giggling. She tried to escape his grasp, but his arms wrapped around her just a bit tighter. Knowing that he wasn't going give up, she finally caved in and turned so that she was facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

Erica smiled at the couple in front of her. In middle school, she had introduced Carlos to Stella on her first day in Minnesota. The two hit it off immediately but never got together. A few years ago, Big Time Rush showed Gustavo a video of Stella dancing and he hired her to be their dance instructor since Mr. X quit. After her first couple of weeks in Los Angeles and a few dates later, Carlos asked Stella to be his girlfriend and they've been together ever since. They were so good together, which made Erica jealous yet happy for them at the same time.

When the couple finished their little puppy-love moment, Stella turned to the rest of the boys and clapped her hands together. "Alright, guys, break's over. Time to go back to rehearsal."

"Damn it!" the boys groaned in unison.

"Hey, no complaining!" Stella demanded, "We have stuff that needs to be done." James, Logan, and Carlos started walking to the dance studio when Stella faced Erica again. "If you're gonna be in town for only a couple of weeks, there are so many things we have to do. We gotta go shopping, take lots of pictures- oh! And there's this one club I have to take you to where- Ah!"

Carlos had picked up his girlfriend and swung her over his shoulder. "No stalling, baby. Like you said, there's stuff that needs to be done."

Stella gave his butt a little smack and he did the same to hers as he carried her to the dance studio.

Kendall and Erica chuckled as they watched the scene in front of them. When their laughter died down, they turned to face each other. She took a good look at her best friend and smiled to herself.

Kendall had definitely changed for the better over these past years. He looked good. Really good. His hair wasn't as shaggy as it used to be, but still long enough that made Erica just want to reach out and run her fingers through it. His jawline looked more define and manlier. There was a bit of stubble resting on his face that Erica found extremely sexy. He had also grown a couple of inches, but she didn't mind; she always had a thing for taller guys.

These were just the small things that Erica had been attracted to over the years that she has known Kendall Knight. These little details gave her more reasons why she was in love with her best friend since they were in diapers. But it was more of was inside of him that had made Erica Reynolds fall for him.

"What are you thinking about, Erica?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when Kendall spoke to her. She looked up at him to see a curious look on his face, waiting for her answer.

"It's just…" she started to say, "I never realized how much I missed everyone here… how much I missed you." That wasn't a complete lie.

The dirty blonde smiled as he embraced his friend. He rubbed her back as she rested her head on his chest.

"I missed you too," he said before placing a friendly kiss on the top of her head, "I missed you so much." They stayed like that for a few more moments, just embracing each other's presence. Then, to her dismay, he pulled away from her. "Now, do you wanna see their asses getting beat up by Stella's dance moves?"

Erica chuckled and nodded her head. She followed Kendall to the dance studio where Logan and James were cowering behind each other as Stella gave them instructions for one of their songs. Erica just laughed to herself as the rehearsal went by. She had a strange but strong feeling that this was one vacation she would never forget, whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

**I really hope you guys like this because this idea's been stuck in my head for the longest freakin' time! Please leave me a review and let me know if you like it or not because I don't get many reviews on my stories so it's hard to tell. It boosts up my confidence and helps me update faster. Also, if you were a fan of Dance Is Better With U, I'm working on the first chapter of the new rewritten story. It should be finished soon so keep your eyes open for that!  
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**Also, if you haven't, PLEASE check out three of my absolute favorite writers' stories! Their names are Carlos'sCupcake, SuperSillyStories, and GothBlue. They're awesome writers and their stories are definitely worth reading! Until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**... I'm not gonna give you guys a lame excuse on why I'm updating a month later. Just enjoy chapter 2 :P**

* * *

The next day, which was Christmas Eve, Erica was in her bathroom getting ready to go shopping with Kendall, Katie, and her fifteen year old sister, Justine. Erica was staying with her mom and Justine for the next couple of weeks in her old bedroom. It was left exactly the way it was when she went to New York; the walls were painted light purple, her furniture was white, and there were pictures of her friends, family, and even a couple posters of Big Time Rush everywhere. Even her stuffed panda- which she named Booboo- was lying on her bed. For a twenty-one year old, Erica always thought that she had a bedroom of a thirteen year old.

Erica was applying her eyeliner for about the thirty-seventh time when her ringtone went off. It took her by surprise and she jumped and shrieked. She ended up getting eyeliner on her cheek and nose and she groaned in frustration. Shaking her head, she put her phone on speaker and grabbed a washcloth.

"What's up?" she said as she dampened the washcloth, put makeup remover on it, and started cleaning off the eyeliner.

"_What the hell's taking you so long, Reynolds?" _Kendall complained over the phone, _"Katie and I have been waiting for you forever!"_

"Must you be so damn impatient?" Erica joked, "I still have to go pick up my sister from her friend's house then I'm coming to meet you at the mall. I'll be there soon."

"_Well, hurry up because we're hungry!"_

"Oh, God! Buy a pretzel or something and once we get there, we'll go to the food court. I'll be there soon. Bye!"

She chuckled as she hung up the phone with her best friend. After about ten more minutes, she had finally perfected her makeup. She took a step back and examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a white t-shirt, red jacket, skinny jeans, and black Ugg boots. A black beanie was placed on top of her curly hair that faded from dark brown to light blonde. She thought she looked decent enough. She then turned off all of her lights, grabbed her keys and purse, and walked outside of the house.

Erica's dark brown eyes lit up when she saw her black Ford Escape in the garage. She had missed her old car so much. In New York, Erica didn't own a car so she had to walk everywhere. Sure, she didn't mind the fresh air and exercise, but she missed being able to just sit back and jam out to whatever was on the radio.

She got into her car and drove over to pick up Justine from her friend's house, where she stayed at the night before. Erica waited in her car for a couple of minutes until a fifteen year old girl with straight blonde hair and blue house walked outside. Justine placed her stuff in the backseat and then climbed into the passenger seat of Erica's car.

"I'm still can't believe that you're here!" Justine exclaimed as she hugged her big sister, "I missed you so much!"

Erica gave her little sister a side hug and kissed her forehead. "I missed you too, little sis!" The two sisters buckled up their seatbelts and Erica started to drive to the mall. "So how've things been here while I was gone? Anything interesting?"

"Eh, you know," Justine answered, "Same old, same old. Mom's still trying to get me into taking acting lessons. Blech." She made a retching noise and shook her head, making her older sister laugh at her.

"Remind me again why you don't wanna get into acting again?" Erica asked, "You never know. It might actually be fun and you could meet hot young actors." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively (a little trick she learned from good ol' Kendall).

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I don't need some stuck-up Hollywood actor boyfriend. I'd rather go for someone that actually cares about the environment and not what brand his shoes are. That's one of the reasons why I wanna be a veterinarian. That and because I love helping animals."

"Aw, my baby sister has morals!" Erica teased, ruffling her sister's hair. Justine giggled and pushed her hand away.

"Shut up," she giggled, "I'll take acting classes if you take up Gustavo's offer."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Erica snorted.

"Why not? You're so amazing and everyone knows for sure that you will get TONS of fans! You can live out in LA and be right with your friends and family again. Also, from what Katie told me, you can make really good bank."

Erica raised her eyebrow at what Justine said. _She really needs to stop listening to everything that Katie says. Eh, they're best friends. What can I do? _Erica thought to herself. She didn't understand why everyone wanted Erica to sign with Rocque Records so bad. Of course, it all sounds so nice, but she just wasn't ready for all of that. What was it going to take for everyone to understand that?

"We'll see," was all that Erica responded with. Justine sighed and stared at the window as her twenty-one year old sister continued to drive.

The two had finally arrived at the mall, which was super crowded. Erica wasn't all that surprised- after all, it was Christmas Eve. It took them forever to find a good parking spot, but they found one eventually. They walked inside the mall and searched for Kendall and Katie Knight. They found them standing in front of Hot Topic. Justine ran to Katie and tackled her best friend into a big hug. The fifteen year old girls began chatting about the new episode of Bones, their new favorite show. Together, the four walked over to the food court and went their separate ways to buy their lunch. Katie and Justine went over to Panda Express while Kendall went with Erica to McDonald's.

"So," Kendall spoke up, "you excited for the Christmas party tonight?"

Erica nodded her head. "Who wouldn't be? I'm still surprised that Gustavo invited me."

They got silent for a few seconds and then started laughing their asses off as if Erica had made the funniest joke ever. People around them were staring at the best friends and were most likely thinking that they were on some kind of drug or something. After a couple minutes, their laughter died down and they wiped the tears peaking from their eyes.

"Excuse me?" They looked up and saw that the cashier was impatiently waiting for them to order. "What would you like? And make it quick- my shift ends in two minutes and you're holding up a line here."

Erica was about to order her lunch when Kendall put his hand up to stop her.

"I got this, Erica," he told her. Then he turned to the cashier. "My friend would like the two cheeseburger combo without the pickles, a medium Mr. Pibb, and a small Oreo McFlurry and I would like the Big Mac combo, a large Coke, and a small M&M McFlurry, please."

Kendall took out his wallet and pulled out a ten and five dollar bill and handed it to the cashier. Right next to him, Erica couldn't help but laugh. The blonde turned to his best friend and raised one of his bushy eyebrows, wondering what was so funny.

"I'm sorry," Erica chuckled, "but should I be really suspicious that you know my order perfectly?"

"You should be happy that someone actually listens to everything you say," Kendall told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "It just shows how amazing of a best friend I truly am."

As cliche as it was (and Erica hated cliches with a passion), the ombre-haired girl was in complete awe at the fact that Kendall cared enough to pay attention to her, even if it was the little details. With other guys she had dated, she either had to order her food herself or her date would completely mess up what she wanted, so she would rather settle for the first option. It's not like Erica wasn't an independent woman that couldn't take care of herself, but it's nice to have someone to care for her like Kendall always had and take charge sometimes.

Erica and Kendall had finally gotten their food and found Katie and Justine waiting for them at a table. The four of them just talked about random things and laughed at memories they had back in Minnesota over lunch. When they were done eating, Katie and Justine decided to split from their siblings and run off to do their own shopping. The two twenty-one year old best friends headed over to Bella's Boutique since Erica still needed a dress for Rocque Records's Christmas party that night. Kendall had picked out varieties of dresses for her to try on, but Erica was already annoyed with it all.

"I don't wanna do this anymore!" Erica complained from inside her fitting room stall, "Can we go home now?"

"Not until you stop whining," Kendall responded, "And I haven't even heard you say 'thank you' once to me for helping you find something to wear tonight."

"Well, all of the choices you gave me suck!" she argued.

"You only have one more dress to try on, and if you don't like it, you're on your own."

Hesitantly, Erica stepped out of the dressing room, wearing a form-fitting, long sleeved, gold and silver sequined dress that ended at just above the knee. Kendall wolf-whistled when he saw Erica, making her blush. He circled his finger, telling her to twirl around so he could get a better look. She laughed but followed his instructions.

She held out her arms. "So, what do you think?"

Kendall nodded his head. "You look really great. This is definitely the one."

Erica sighed in relief- that meant that she was finally done shopping. She rushed back into her fitting room stall and changed back into her regular clothes. When she was done, she had bought her dress after arguing with Kendall about who was going to buy it. She had won the argument but she made him carry her bag for her. They found their little sisters and left the mall so they could go get ready for the party that night.

* * *

Later that evening, Erica was leaning against the wall at Rocque Records, sipping on her champagne. She was wearing the dress she bought with nude colored heels, gold dangling earrings, a gold bangle, and a gold and silver ring. Her curly ombre hair was brushed over to the side and pinned. As she sipped her champagne, she overlooked the party.

Katie and Justine were pulling pranks on some people that worked for the company (who, by the way, were totally oblivious). Erica's mom and Mama Knight were sitting at one of the tables, talking about old memories. Gustavo was running around, trying to make sure everything remained perfect. James was already a little buzzed and danced with random girls. Logan was trying to talk to a pretty girl with medium-length brown hair and wearing a sleeveless silver dress. Carlos and Stella were on the dance floor, bodies swaying to the music and sneaking in little kisses every now and then. Everyone else was either dancing or sitting down at one of the many tables. Either way, everyone was having an amazing time.

Erica heard two people chatting and heading towards the party. She peered down the hallway and saw Kelly and her twenty-two year old brother, Jackson, bickering with each other.

"Jackson!" Erica beamed, running towards her old friend.

Jackson heard her and shrieked as he went up to hug his friend. When they parted, they squealed together about how much they had missed each other.

"I'm so happy that you're here!" Jackson exclaimed, "When Kelly told me that you coming in for a couple of weeks, I was literally screaming for ten minutes straight!"

"I had to wear earplugs because he was so loud," Kelly said, "I'm pretty sure he even cracked some windows."

Erica laughed, picturing the whole scene. "I'm so glad to be back!" She turned to Kelly, "You're taking good care of this guy, right?"

"I have no choice," Kelly joked, "He can barely take care of himself!"

Jackson scoffed. "Oh, please, honey! If it wasn't for me, you'd be wearing that hideous black dress with the puffy sleeves tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." The three of them heard Gustavo holler for Kelly, making her cringe. "I should go see what he wants. But have fun tonight." She pointed to her brother. "But not too much fun." She chuckled and walked away from the two.

From where they were at, they could see Carlos sitting at a table with Stella on his lap. The sweethearts were giggling and kissing each other. Jackson cleared his throat loudly, making Stella turn to face him and Erica. He motioned her over to them. Stella pecked her boyfriend's lips before joining her two best friends.

"Can you believe how _amazing_ this party turned out?" she squealed, "There are so many celebrities here. I think I even saw Andy Samberg!"

"What would Andy Samberg be doing here?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow.

Stella shrugged. "I don't know, but who cares? It's Andy Samberg!"

Erica laughed at her friends. "Let me tell ya, Gustavo really went all out for this party." She sipped on her champagne some more when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she almost dropped her flute glass as she realized who it was that had just gotten her attention.

_Holy shit, it's Jo! _Erica had completely forgot about the blonde girl! She hadn't spoken to her since the last time she had been out in California. Last time she checked, Kendall was still dating Jo. Seeing them being all cute and cuddly with each other always made Erica sick to her stomach. Jo Taylor had been one of those girls that no matter how much she wanted to hate them, she just couldn't. The blonde had been absolutely nothing but nice to Erica. Jo adored her, and the blue-eyed girl had to always be careful and be nice back. Although no one would ever know, Erica could never mentally forgive Jo for stealing the love of her life from her.

"Jo," Erica said, forcing a smile, "Hi!"

"Hey, Erica!" Jo said happily. She gave Erica a hug. "I'm so excited that you're here! I've always been bugging Kendall to try to get you to fly back out to California. How long are you staying exactly?"

"Until after New Years," Erica answered, "So, you and Kendall still... you know, you and Kendall?"

Jo giggled and nodded her head. "Yep. About two and a half years now. It's crazy how fast two and a half years have gone, but when you're spending time and having fun with the one you love, it doesn't matter. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it," Erica said. She felt sort of... guilty for wishing that Kendall and Jo weren't together anymore. She couldn't help it! But she still had to keep a smile on her naturally tan face and pretend to be happy for her. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing great."

Before Jo could respond, they heard the sound of glass clinking, making everyone stop what they were doing. Everyone turned to face the small stage on the other side of the room. Gustavo was standing onstage with a flute glass of champagne in his hand.

"Hello, everyone," he said into the microphone, "First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming out to this extravagant party tonight." He paused until the applause had finally died down. "I know that this is a Christmas party, I want to take this time to talk about my dogs. I've been working with them for about five years now. When they first started, I could not stand them at all. They were weird, annoying, destructive, sassy, and James reminded me way too much of Matthew McConaughey."

"Hey!" James shrieked, making everyone laugh.

"And to this day," Gustavo continued, "they are still all of those things. But they are also incredible musicians and have good hearts. James is now also a less annoying version of Matthew McConaughey. These dogs never fail to make my day entertaining. So let's raise our glass to Big Time Rush." He raised his champagne. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everybody clinked their glasses and drank either their champagne, water, or sparkling cider.

"So, everyone have a good Christmas and enjoy-"

Kendall stepped onstage. "Excuse me, Gustavo. If it's alright, I have a few words to say." Gustavo moved out of the way and Kendall took his place. He removed the microphone from its stand. The blonde then cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Like Gustavo said earlier, it's great to see you all here tonight. I can't believe that all of the people I love more anything are sharing this room tonight on my favorite holiday. Thank you all so much for supporting Big Time Rush. You have no idea how much it means to the four of us that you have been by our sides when we first started out here in LA. And yes, Big Time Rush is currently working on our third album and it will hopefully be out sometime next year."

"I would like to give a quick shout-out to one of my best friends in the entire world. I have known this girl way back when we were babies in Minnesota. In middle school, we even had our own little band that only had one original song." This earned a laugh from the crowd, including Erica. "She's an extremely gifted musician and I know that she will go far in the future. This girl will always be like a sister to me. Please give it up for my best friend, Erica Reynolds."

Everyone applauded for Erica, making her blush and giggle. She waved as the applause continued. It was so sweet of Kendall to mention her in his little speech, but she felt a little pang in her heart when he said that she'll always be like a sister to him.

"Before I let everyone go back to the party, Jo, will you come up here?"

This had everyone buzzing, but no one was more confused to what was going on, especially Erica and Jo. The blonde girl hesitantly handed Erica her flute glass and made her way onto the stage next to her boyfriend.

"You guys all know Jo Taylor," Kendall continued, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "She has starred in New Town High and many other TV shows and movies. We have been dating for about two and a half years now. When we found out that she was going to be filming three movies in New Zealand for three years, I was heartbroken. But then she came back earlier than expected, and I knew that we were meant to be. I have never met anyone as sweet, funny, caring, and beautiful as her. She was and still is my first love, and I don't want that to ever change. So, I think tonight was the perfect night to do this."

He put the microphone back on its stand. He pulled a small black velvet box out of the pocket of his pants. Everyone gasped as Kendall got down on one knee in front of Jo. Tears immediately poured down her cheeks and she gasped as her hands covered her mouth. They all knew what was coming. Erica knew exactly knew what was going on, but she just hoped that this was all part of a sick nightmare. Kendall opened up the box, revealing the most gorgeous diamond ring.

"Jo Taylor, will you marry me?"

Jo didn't have to think twice before crying out, "Yes!" With a big grin on his face, he stood up and slid the ring on her skinny left ring finger. He cupped her face and gave her a big kiss. At this point, the crowd was cheering loudly and clinking their glasses in excitement- Hollywood's sweethearts were finally engaged!

_No, no, no, no, no, NO!_ Erica was frozen in shock when she realized that this was all reality. Her now empty glass slipped out of her hands and shattered all over the floor. This couldn't be happening. Her best friend, her 'brother', her one true love was getting married to someone that wasn't her. Saying that she was upset would be a huge understatement. She was beyond devastated. No one had noticed, which was good; she wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she needed was the whole world knowing that she was in love with Kendall Knight, the soon-to-be married man. He could've at least told her what his plan was for that night.

She was so deep in thought, she didn't even hear Kendall come up to her. He tapped on her shoulder and she jumped.

"You okay there?" he asked his best friend.

"Yeah," she lied, "I'm fine."

They both stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to say to each other. Erica scratched her arm as Kendall shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet.

"So..." he finally said, "what'd you think?"

"Umm," Erica said, trying to be careful of her words, "that was definitely... unexpected." When she saw that Kendall's eyebrow was raised, she knew he was confused with her answer. "I mean, it's just that... why didn't you tell me you were going to propose to Jo?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't tell anyone, actually. Not the guys, Katie, or even my mom. I just wanted it to be a surprise for everyone. Are you mad at me?"

_Yes, I'm mad! How could you not tell your best friend that you're getting engaged?! _Erica wanted to yell at Kendall, but when she saw the worry in her eyes, she couldn't. In a way, she understood where he was coming from. She couldn't be mad at him if she tried- she's his best friend.

"No, I'm not mad," she told him, "I was just surprised, that's all. Congratulations, Kendall. I'm happy for you. Really." She forced a smile for third time that night.

Kendall let out a sigh of relief and hugged her. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you, Erica." He kissed her forehead and walked away to find his new fiance.

Erica looked around the room and saw Jo giddily flashing her engagement ring to Stella and Jackson. They 'oohed' and 'awed' over the piece of jewelry until Kendall came up and hugged Jo from behind. She turned around so she was facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed each other and had the biggest smiles on their faces. I mean, why wouldn't they? They were engaged, after all.

She couldn't take watching them any longer. Making sure that no one was watching her, Erica ducked out of the party room and ran around to find somewhere that she can be alone. She finally came across the recording booth. She stepped in and shut the door behind her. It was a small place and the microphones weren't helping the size, but Erica could care less. She slid down the wall and held her knees against her chest. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, leaving trails of eyeliner and mascara.

"Fuck..."

* * *

**Dramatic, huh? I hope you guys liked it though! So PLEASE REVIEW! It would mean the world to me.**

**Are you guys not liking my stories? I haven't been getting many reviews lately and it's really making me lose my confidence. I love Send Me An Angel, Dance Is Better With U, and How Do I Deal Without You so much and I'm working hard on them, but I feel like no one is liking them. I don't wanna have to keep threatening to delete them so help me out! I know you guys are reading them so show me that you like them :) Thank you to the people who do review, favorite, and alert my stories! I love you all so much! :)  
**

**I'm just ready for BTR's new album and season to come out already! I'm tired of waiting :P Well, until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	3. PLEASE READ!

**Hi, guys!**

**I know it's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories. Words can't explain how sorry I am. I haven't had any motivation to write lately and writer's block is just kicking my ass. I'm not gonna stop updating, don't worry, but not until I have at least most of the stories written. I know I don't have many chapters on each of them to begin with, but I'm trying as hard as I can to give you guys good stories. So with that being said, I'm putting these stories on hiatus. I don't know for how long, but hopefully not too long. I'm not giving up, I promise you that!**

**But onto some good news. **

**I am starting a CarlosxOC story sometime this week. Yeah, it's not good to start a new story when I have three other ones that need my attention and I have been trying to wait until at least towards the end of the school year. But this is just DYING to come out and I can't ignore it any longer. Hopefully the first chapter will be up by the end of the week and I'm gonna be trying to update weekly. I just need your guys' motivation.**

**Here's the summary for **_**Scandalous**_**:**

_**It is senior year for Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos at Palm Woods School of the Arts in Los Angeles. They are the school's barbershop quartet called Big Time Rush- the most popular guys in school. They are also known as the biggest players who love to sleep around. Cecily Giordano- Lucy's best friend since they were little- is new to the school. She is the sweetest and most innocent person anyone has ever met. Cecily has also caught Carlos's eye. Lucy tells the boys to stay away from Cecily, but Carlos won't have it. The guys dare Carlos to get Cecily to sleep with him and record the whole thing. He learns along the road that landing a clueless virgin is the hardest thing he has ever done and having her in the same dance class as him doesn't help, but he won't give up. He is stealing her innocence one step at a time, and it scares the hell out of Cecily. Will Carlos have a change of heart, or will his scandalous ways put Cecily's career, future, and even her safety in jeopardy?**_

**Make sure you keep your eye out! Until then, rock on and WHOO HOO! Xoxo, Maddie :)**


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